by Jim Corbett, USA TODAY Sports

by Jim Corbett, USA TODAY Sports

PHILADELPHIA â?? Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick empathized when wide receiver Riley Cooper apologized to him during a 15-minute conversation Wednesday night, and then to teammates, for using a racial slur after a confrontation with an African-American security guard during a Kenny Chesney concert in June.

"What if your son or daughter made a mistake of this factor? How would you want people to perceive it? I've been there before,'' said Vick, who made the most of his second chance with the Eagles after serving a 21-month sentence for his role in a dog-fighting ring.

"Him being my brother, knowing him for so long, it's hard to defend him saying that. At the same, time, it happened. We talked about it man to man, one on one. We just know that we have to some way move on. It's a very delicate situation. But we all understand. Somehow we all have to find a way to get past it. That's maturity in itself.''

In a video that has gone viral after being published Wednesday on CrossingBroad.com, Cooper said, "I will jump that fence and fight every (N-word) here, bro."

Immediately after the video was posted, Cooper apologized on Twitter. After being rebuked and fined by the Eagles front office and chastised by the NFL, Cooper met with the media and apologized again. Then he met with his teammates during an evening walk-through and offered another apology. Vick said he spoke to Cooper during the team's practice.

Next on Vick's agenda is a man-to-man talk with his outspoken younger brother, Marcus, who put a Twitter bounty on Cooper, offering $1,000 to the "first Free Safety or Strong safety that light his (butt) up! Wake him up please."

Marcus Vick later deleted the tweet, but his brother was still upset with the meddling in a team issue.

"People on the outside world who don't know how we're dealing with it, they're going to voice their own opinion,'' Vick said. "But my brother has to not show a certain level of ignorance himself.

"I don't agree with what my brother is saying. Riley is still my teammate. And he just stood in front of us as a man and apologized for what he said. And somewhere deep down, you have to find some level of respect for that. Riley wished he never said it.''

Safety Kurt Coleman has a unique perspective on Cooper's racial slur.

"I'm a man of mixed culture, I'm bi-racial, so I understand everything,'' Coleman said. "Do I feel the comment was insensitive? Yeah. And he knows that.

"I've been called a lot of things. But I think Riley is a good man. I really do. I have his back. It's going to build a lot of character in him. It's a tough situation, but we've got to move together as a team.''

The Eagles began healing when coach Chip Kelly gave the team five minutes to clear the air.

"We understand the magnitude of this situation, we understand a lot of people may be hurt and offended,'' Vick said. "But I know Riley Cooper. I've been with him for three years and I know what type of person he is. That's what makes it easy, at the same time hard to understand the situation. I forgave him.''

Said defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, who is black: "I still look at him as one of my brothers. He stood up like a man and we all applauded that he stood up like a man to apologize in front of everybody. Everybody makes mistakes.''